Other shows debuting that year included “Alias,” “Scrubs” and “Six Feet Under”–all of which ended years ago.

Kiefer Sutherland has lost none of his gruff charm reprising the role of Jack Bauer–there’s almost a nostalgic comfort seeing him take on multiple foes with ease, even strangling a guy with his hands literally tied behind his back. And the show’s action-packed formula remains essentially the same, across a condensed, 12-episode arc. Read More »

Jack is back! Four years ago, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) prevented a nuclear explosion in New York, killed a mole in the Counter Terrorist Unit who was undermining the U.S. government, killed the Russian foreign minister who was taking part in illegal assassinations, and generally saved the day like he always does. As thanks for his ongoing heroism, the U.S. and Russia both want him dead. Such is the life of Jack. When we last saw him, he said goodbye to his faithful CTU friend Chloe O’Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and disappeared.

The new “24″ begins in East London in what appears to be an Arab part of town. We can hear the sound of daily prayers in the background. Several nefarious-looking men are wandering around.

CIA operative Navarro (played by well-known TV actor Benjamin Bratt) is in a control room with a bunch of men. They are tracking something or somebody. Nearby, a CIA operative named Kate is packing up her office. She has either been fired or is quitting. A colleague comments that the president is on his way to London. Read More »

Fans who spent the last few years pining for Jack Bauer have a little more to keep them going before the May 5 premiere of “24: Live Another Day.”

Fox released a new trailer for the coming series in which Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, comes out of hiding in London to stop a terrorist attack so big that it could change the world. All the while he must elude U.S. forces who are hunting him down as a traitor. The new series brings back many characters form the original “24″ that ran from 2001 to 2010, and introduces several new ones. Read More »

Broadcast networks aren’t just pitching television shows at this year’s “upfront” presentations to advertisers. They are touting television “events” from a multi-day quiz show to a reprise of a famous musical to a 12-episode comeback of the hit counter-terrorism drama “24.”

The networks hope such programming can attract large live viewing audiences at a time when viewers increasingly prefer to time-shift their TV shows and forward through ads. Big sports games and awards shows are among the events that already attract large live audiences. Read More »

What does “24″ executive producer Howard Gordon think of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden?

Late Sunday night, right along with Bin Laden, another household name was trending on Twitter: Jack Bauer. The fictional action hero in Fox’s “24″ came to mind as President Obama talked about the “actionable intelligence” that led to the al Qaeda leader’s death. Read More »

Chloe makes a decision that could cost her her life, President Taylor has to make a decision that could upset the balance of world peace, and Jack Bauer makes one last, possibly fatal, game-changing decision on this, the final two hours of “24’s” eighth and…(choke) last day.

Let’s just dive in. Cole has been sent on Chloe’s orders to Jim Ricker’s secret compound. Ricker, of course, is waiting for him, pistol in hand. Cole has a high-powered shotgun in his hands, so it’s a stalemate. Cole tells Ricker that if he’s looking to pay Jack back for saving his life, it’s best to give up Jack’s plans before the wrong people (Pillar and company) get to him. Ricker reveals that Jack’s new target is Russian President Subarov. Read More »

Charles Logan’s actions are unscrupulous, President Taylor’s actions are unconscionable, and Jack Bauer’s actions are totally unhinged on this, the third to last episode of “24.”

On the 22nd hour of Day 8, ex-President Logan is getting ready to meet Russian President Subarov at the airport, part of his “redemptive” regime, when he gets the news from weasel number one Pillar that Jack has killed Pavel and retrieved the evidence. With Jack and the evidence out there, Logan is forced to tell President Taylor. The remaining decency in Taylor elicits disgust that she allowed Logan to talk her into her very questionable actions, but Logan reminds her that no one put a gun to her head. That stings, but Logan is right. President Taylor continues to authorize Jack’s apprehension and suppression of the evidence. Speaking of which… Read More »

Charles Logan gets ready for a premature closeup, Chloe outmaneuvers a superior at CTU (again), and Jack proves that no one does torture quite like him on this, the 21st hour of the final day of “24.”

And speaking of Jack, he’s on the run again after killing Dana Walsh in cold blood after getting the evidence, a disk containing video of Dana brokering the parameters of Russia’s actions to sabotage the peace agreement with Pavel, the same assassin who took out Renee. Jack again takes quick refuge at Jim Ricker’s bunker, where he makes contact with Meredith Reed, the reporter (and Hassan’s ex-lover) whom he cleared of any wrongdoing earlier in the day. She agrees to be the one who will vet the video evidence. Read More »

Dana continues to play Cole, Cole continues to be played by her, and Jack continues to show everyone that he’s not to be played with, as the final day of “24″ continues to tick away.

Hour 20 begins with Dalia making her speech, pledging to be a good President to her people and committing to the successful culmination of the peace talks. But at the same time, ex-President Logan and his flunky Jason Piller are discussing the tying up of the loose end, namely Dana Walsh. Both men are careful with their words in order for Logan to claim plausible deniability in case something goes wrong. Speaking of the thing that can cause things to go wrong… Read More »

President Taylor continues to be played by Charles Logan, Chloe tries to play Jack (reluctantly), and Jack proves yet again that he’s not a man to play with on this, the 19th hour of the eighth day of “24.”

When last we saw Jack, he had commandeered the helicopter dispatched to take him into custody by the Air Force on President Taylor’s orders. Jack knows that his wild ride won’t last too long before he’s shot down by attack choppers, so he finds a helipad and sets down. Despite being under surveillance from the air and from CTU, Jack manages to lose himself among a crowd of New Yorkers. Read More »

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.